AnaYela Marrakech (Marriott Design Hotels): Bottom Line Review

When most people think of Morocco, the first place they think of is Marrakech. A 20th-century by-word for mysterious exoticism, it can be a fascinating place to explore, especially when traipsing around the nearly 3-square miles of tangled alleyways and ancient gates that make up the ancient medina. Most of the accommodation within Marrakech’s medina is in riads, or a restored house (usually hundreds of years old) that has multiple rooms focused around an inner courtyard. Riads have become much more trendy over the last ten years or so, as both expats and Moroccans have purchase properties to renovate specifically for tourism.

All that said, it can be hard (though not impossible) to find Riads that can be booked on points and miles. A couple of years ago, a very inviting one became available through Marriott Bonvoy that looked beautiful and had excellent reviews: AnaYela. I’d been looking forward to staying there since it joined Bonvoy and jumped at the chance to try it during a visit to Marrakech last year. Unfortunately, I found the whole experience rather underwhelming.

AnaYela Marrakech: Bottom Line Review

First off, let me say that I’m completely in the minority when it comes to my opinion on AnaYela, as just a browse through its TripAdvisor reviews will show. But I was very excited to check the place out and, for us, it didn’t deliver on that anticipation. The courtyard is beautiful, the decor is terrific and I absolutely applaud the owner’s commitment to women’s empowerment…but my wife and I were more than ready to leave after three nights.

The room was narrow, dark and noisy, with very little sound barrier between the main public area in the courtyard. The rooftop looks beautiful, but all of the furniture was covered because of area cats soiling and tearing it, so in order to enjoy it you have to find someone to uncover it and add seat cushions. The staff was incredibly warm and friendly, but we had several dropped balls during our stay and often had trouble actually finding someone to assist us or ask a question. Given the location and the price, I’d probably look for something else the next time that I’m in Marrakech. Thumbs Down

• Price: We paid an average of ~43,000 Marriott Bonvoy points over three nights. It seems to vary in award price quite a bit, from ~30K-46K and it now has a three-night minimum. The nightly rate for base rooms usually starts at €220 or ~ $225 USD/night.
• Value: There’s two ways to look at value here. As an award stay, it often seems to hover around 0.5 cents per point, which isn’t great (we value the average redemption of Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each), but it can be as high as 1 cent per point. On cash rates, it’s pricey given its location in the medina, and I didn’t find that the experience wowed me beyond other Riads that I’ve experienced.
• Location: While the Riad is located in the medina, it’s on the opposite side from the more touristed area, which centers around the famous square, Jemaa el-Fna. It’s about a 30-40 minute walk to the square and, until you get your bearings, you may take a wrong turn or two (ignore the local kids that mess with tourists by giving them bad directions). Walking around at night may feel uncomfortable for some, as it’s much more residential/local commercial than it is touristy. We actually liked the location and enjoyed being in the medina but outside of the more chaotic center, but some may find it inconvenient.
• Room: We booked a Superior room on the courtyard level. The room is fairly small, at ~260 sq feet. It’s beautifully decorated, but not without its flaws: the lighting is always a little too low and there’s no way to brighten it, it’s very narrow and I could touch both sides while laying in bed crossways, there’s only a thin, sliding glass door and curtain separating the bedroom from the courtyard, so you could hear everything happening there, and even some conversation in other rooms.
• Parking: None.
• Resort/Destination Fee: None.
• Internet: Good throughout the property.
• Service: The entire staff was incredibly warm and obviously wanted to be helpful in any way they could…but it could be hard to find someone when we actually had a question or needed something. A couple of times, we had to call the hotel on our mobile in order to get a hold of staff. We had a couple of minor requests get dropped and had to inquire again in order to get them fulfilled.
• Turndown service: None.
• Dining:
  • On demand: There is no restaurant as such, but you can choose to eat at the Riad. They’ll make you a 3-course menu that you eat in the courtyard or on the roof (by request – I believe that there’s a higher charge). The cost was spendy compared to local restaurants (€50pp when we were there), and we wanted to explore other places anyway. Reviews are very good, but we never saw more than one group/couple eating on any given night. Like breakfast, you’re often eating in front of someone else’s room, so it might be odd if someone goes to bed early.

• Spa: None, although they will arrange trips to a nearby hammam.
• Fitness Room: None.
• Marriott Titanium Benefits: 
  • Room Upgrade: None.
  • Free Breakfast: Because this is a member of Design Hotels, there’s very little in terms of guaranteed benefits, including free breakfast. When we visited, breakfast was included for guests that booked paying cash, but not for Marriott award stays – instead there was a surcharge added if you chose to partake. The surcharge was smaller for elite members and they ended up waving one day of our charges since they had a different policy when we made the reservation. Regardless, the food was the same every morning, but was freshly-made. Eating in the courtyard was awkward, unfortunately, as you were often right in front of someone else’s room, sometimes when they were still sleeping.
  • Club Lounge: None.
  • Late Checkout: None, they did offer to store our bags if we need a late checkout.
  • Welcome Amenity: None in the room, but we were served tea and biscuits while we were checking in.
• Would I stay again?  No, I think there’s better value to be had for the money/points. But I’m certainly the minority in that opinion based on others’ reviews.

Pros

• Beautifully-restored property
• One of the few opportunities to stay in a Moroccan medina on points
• Very warm staff

Cons

• The room was small, narrow, dark and loud
• The location may be inconvenient for those who don’t enjoy walking
• Often a below-average value on points
• Service execution (not intention) was hit-and-miss during our stay

Image Gallery

AnaYela Deluxe Double Room

AnaYela Welcome and Breakfast

AnaYela Courtyard and Public Areas

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.